Dawn and Dusk Watercolor

Dawn and Dusk, watercolor, 17"h x 13"w.

My latest watercolor is a luscious combination of the climbing rose 'New Dawn' and clematis 'Etoile de Violette' that grows on the side of my porch. I started working on this two years ago, developing the drawing from a set of photos I'd taken that spring--my drawing is a bit on the sloppy side with many unresolved areas, but I thought it was enough to get started, and worry about developing it more fully as I got into the painting.

Pen and ink drawing for tracing.

The idea was to try to convey the lushness of the two intertwining plants in a composition that spilled in a rambunctious fashion over the entire sheet of watercolor. I started applying some under painting to the central clematis flower when I realized that the Permanent Rose and Cobalt Blue pigment combination I was using was too opaque for the desired effect.

Dawn and Dusk - early stages.

I put the painting aside for two years, searching for more transparent pigments. A number of workshops I took in the intervening years helped me to develop other techniques and find the transparent pigments I was looking for: Quinacridone Coral and Brilliant Blue-violet. I scrubbed as much of the early pigments as possible and started again, this time with happier results.

Dawn and Dusk - later stage.

The illusion of perspective is created mostly by the change in size of the flowers and leaves, as well as light and dark areas. A bit of redesign was necessary to hide a couple of paint spills that happened along the way--I don't always cover my painting to protect the white areas because this makes it difficult to see the entire painting at one time. That's a risk I'm willing to take.

At this point I'm trying to decide if it's finished, or if it needs a few more leaves and/or buds or a little more drybrush in places to bring out the edges of the pale roses. I'll let it sit on my easel for a few more weeks now and think about it before I decide. There's no hurry, as there are no art shows in my schedule anytime in the future.

Mid-Summer Harvest

Blueberries and Strawberries

This year my 'Top Hat' Blueberry bush has done well, thanks to a self-watering pot. I fed it lots of Holly Tone in the spring and it rewarded me with ample blossoms and later, fruit. As the berries started to ripen I noticed that the mockingbirds were circling around more frequently. In years past, I've lost most of the berries to them and squirrels; this year I was determined they wouldn't get the best of my harvest, and I covered the bush with bird netting. One mockingbird perched on the porch roof and scolded me for an hour after I did that, but I've been able to enjoy my home-grown blueberries at last!

The ever-bearing strawberry 'Mara de Bois' continues to produce too, though not in the profusion of the first flush in June. Tonight's fruit salad will be all home-grown.

 Blueberry 'Top Hat' bush.

We're now in the middle of the summer doldrums--so hot and dry that all my plants are suffering. I spend my evenings watering, trying to keep everything alive. Below are a couple of yellow roses I cut before they got blasted by the heat. If only it would rain, lots and lots of plentiful water we desperately need!

Yellow roses: 'Molineux' on the right, rootstock or 'Peace' on the left.

Still, many plants offer their blooms at this time of the year, such as the Butterfly bush (Buddleia hybrids), and this white hibiscus with a deep red eye.  The hibiscus wilts frequently, but with a bit of watering, perks up right away. The Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is still displaying some flowers, as well as the lavender.

Butterfly bush (Buddleia) and white hibiscus.

The flower spikes of Vitex, also known as Chaste-tree (Vitex agnus-castus) appear at this time of the year--its blue spikes give the illusion of coolness in the blistering heat.

Vitex shrub (Vitex agnus-castus)

I planted this Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) as a small sapling some five years ago; it's now over my head and covered with flower spikes that are starting to open. It will eventually reach some 12 to 15 feet high and wider, since it tends to spread out by suckers.

Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aseculus parviflora)

The Meadow Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis) that I added to Herb's bed this spring is starting to bloom--I wish I'd ordered more plants--there were only two bulbs in the order of three I was sent, and I planted the other bulb in the Lil' Indians bed, where it promptly disappeared--overshadowed by other plants. Oh well, I'll move the other bulb here in the fall and hope they'll form a nice clump eventually. The flowers are unusual in that they open from the top down--most flower spikes tend to open from the bottom upward.

Herb's bed

The black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm') in the long bed is starting to bloom, and the ornamental blue grama grasses (Boutelua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition') thankfully don't need a lot of water.

Black-eyed Susan and ornamental grasses.

My white-flowered Crape myrtle 'Natchez' is finally reaching tree height, though it tends to lose some top growth during the winter. The bark peels in attractive layers of brown and gray, giving it added interest during the winter season.

Crepe myrtle 'Natchez' in front.

The drift roses are holding their own with some watering--I'm thinking of expanding this bed all the way across toward the crape myrtle and putting in more drift roses, maybe white ones? I like the way the blue fescue grasses look with the roses, but the bed needs a touch more of blue--maybe add more of the same variety of blue Veronica growing below the crepe myrtle, or some blue lupines?

I'm counting the days until fall planting season now.

In the Heat of July

Herb with a common Mullein.

The common Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) is a native plant that grows wild in open fields in many places throughout the world. I've seen them on our roadsides and local pastures often enough while driving around, but never had a chance to observe them close-up, so when several plants sprang up in my yard last year, I left them alone so that I could watch them closely. The plants are biennial, with a rosette of silvery leaves growing the first year, developing the flowering stalk on their second year. It has been used medicinally for hundreds of years--I think the flowers are very attractive.

Close-up of Mullein flowers

One of the Mulleins came up right by the front steps to the house. The structure the flowering stem is fascinating--the veins form flanges that support the incredible height of the flowering stalk. The one in the back bed reached an impressive height--my husband Herb is 6'-4" and as you can see in the photo, the flower stalk towers at least a foot above him!

Mullein by the front steps

Our area tends to be quite hot and dry during summers that are punctuated by the occasional thunderstorm and accompanying gully-washers. This environment is hard on many plants, particularly some garden favorites, but there are others that can resist these conditions, and I've slowly been learning which will survive and even thrive.

Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) are among these, and I'd planted a nice group of them in the back bed. Two winters ago most of them disappeared--I learned that voles (a type of small field mouse) like to eat the roots, and they attacked mine mercilessly. When I replaced the plants last summer, I wrapped the root balls in wire mesh before putting them in the ground so that the voles couldn't get to the roots, and this year, I'm happy to see that my Coneflowers are starting to prosper.  There are several varieties here: orange 'Sombrero', 'Cheyenne Spirit', white 'Avalanche,' as well as an ordinary light pink--I have no idea where the yellow ones came from, perhaps natural cross-pollination.

I spotted a family of goldfinches scouting the flowers earlier--they love to eat the seeds--so I'm hoping to see lots of goldfinches feeding on them after the flowers have set seed. Hopefully, these will eventually fill in the whole bed, although I may put some other plants among them to discourage voles, just to make sure.

Coneflowers ( in assorted colors.

Deer found the Diervilla 'Kodiak Black' (Diervilla lonicera) I planted last summer very tasty, so I took the precaution of caging it so that I could see some flowers this year. This plant, known as bush honeysuckle, is native to the eastern half of North America from Canada to North Carolina. My cultivar is supposed to have dark purplish leaves, but since it prefers cool summers, I'm guessing the heat may be causing the leaves to turn green.

Diervilla 'Kodiak Black'

 Peach color Daylily

The mid-season daylilies are putting on a show now--I forget the names of these varieties, some of which I planted during my first couple of summers here. When I expanded another bed later on I planted another grouping in assorted colors. These varieties that were being discontinued by Gilbert Wild & Son were on sale, and the plants have taken a couple of years to reach this size.

Daylily bed

Daylilies in summery pastel colors

What summer garden could be without Hydrangeas? The white 'Incrediball' is outstanding, but the other two hydrangeas, 'Endless Summer' and a blue lacecap variety that I brought as cuttings from my garden in Columbia seem to die back to the ground every winter, despite deep mulching. These bloom on old wood as well as new, but lag behind and wilt frequently in this climate. With a lot of watering, I hope to get a few blooms eventually, but these will be pink, despite all the aluminum sulfate I add every year. Hard to believe these were a lovely blue in my garden in Columbia!

Hydrangeas on the east side.

Farther back towards the woods.

The orange butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) in back is now well established, but the 'Hello Yellow' variety I planted last year barely made it--one tiny plant has put out a puny flower. Oh well, it may yet gather some strength for next year. The hot-pink phlox was added this year--the butterfly bush (Buddleia) in back should start blooming soon.

Herb's old sunflower bed was replanted with perennials such as lavender, ornamental grasses, annuals and chrysanthemums that will bloom in the fall. I'm still working on expanding this bed, wondering if I should try to create a small bog garden towards the front. This would require digging up a patch about 12" deep, putting a plastic barrier to retain water, and filling it in with peat moss and sand to make the soil really acidic, since bog plants dislike alkaline soils. It seems like a lot of work, and I wonder if it would be worth the effort. Considering the alkalinity of this soil, it might be wiser to select other more suitable native plants for this spot.

Korean fir 'Silverhorst' and purple basil with calibrachoas.

I couldn't resist buying this lovely Korean fir 'Horstman's Silberlocke' (Abies koreana 'Horstman's Silberlocke') when it went on sale at Wayside Gardens, but that was very late in the spring. Rather than risk losing it to our scorching summers, I decided to re-pot it into a larger pot where I can keep it well-watered, and then plant in the fall, when it stands a better chance. Next to it is a pot with purple basil and some Calibrachoas--I love the contrasting colors against the blue-green of the woolly thyme ground cover.

Two other shrubs I purchased are also awaiting in pots for fall planting, you can see a bit of the variegated Abelia 'Panoramic Color Radiance' to the right. My collection of potted plants on the back deck keeps growing too. It takes so much time to water these days, I think I need to buy more self-watering pots. Here is this year's most colorful combination: red annual Vinca (Catharanthus roseus) with Heliotrope, blue Lobelia, Coleus, and creeping Jenny.

Potted plants on the deck.

Heliotrope, annual Vinca, Coleus and blue Lobelia.